Assessing the risk of veterinary NSAIDs to Critically Endangered vultures in Bangladesh

Project title:Assessing the risk of veterinary NSAIDs to Critically Endangered vultures in Bangladesh

Location:Bangladesh, particularly two Vulture Safe Zones (VSZs)

Duration:June 2018 – May 2019

Project background:

Gyps bengalensis, the white-rumped vulture, was described as the most common bird of prey on Earth in the late1980s, with a population in the tens of millions. This species has almost vanished across its historic range over the last few decades and has found its place on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ as Critically Endangered. The key driver behind this rapid, unprecedented global population collapse has been the ingestion by vultures of dead cattle containing non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) residue, principally diclofenac. Other NSAIDs, like ketoprofen, nimesulide, flunixin and aceclofenac, are now also considered toxic to the white-rumped vulture. Despite extensive bans on veterinary diclofenac now in place across much of South Asia since 2006, and in Bangladesh since 2010, these drugs remain in use, legally or illegally, across the region. Only meloxicam has been identified as a ‘vulture-safe’ NSAID.

To reduce the potential NSAID-related threats to Bangladesh’s last remaining vultures, two Vulture Safe Zones (VSZs) were established in 2014. These VSZs are designed to provide safe feeding areas following concerted efforts to eliminate toxic NSAID use in those areas. Unfortunately, the presence of toxic diclofenac residues need only be present in less than 1% of carcasses for rapid vulture decline to continue. Knowledge regarding NSAID prevalence in carcasses within the VSZs is therefore crucial to ensure vulture conservation. Despite the presence of two designated VSZs in Bangladesh, NSAID residue prevalence and concentrations in these areas are not known. This project, among other activities, aims to begin to address this knowledge gap.